Katie and the Cupcake Cure

This debut installment of the Cupcakes Diaries covers familiar turf. On the first day of middle school, Katie's best friend Callie snubs her for the "Popular Girls Club." Hurt but resilient, Katie bonds with stylish Mia, who has just moved to town from Manhattan; shy Emma; and down-to-earth Alexis. When Katie's overprotective, "cupcake crazy" mother (who, yes, calls her "Cupcake") senses that her daughter has had a rough day she proposes a "cupcake cure" and the two bake a batch, which Katie shares with her new pals. Katie, an affable narrator, asserts that middle school "got a little bit easier" after she and her friends form the Cupcake Club and bake together on weekends. At a school fundraiser, Katie and crew sell cupcakes (competing with Callie and her cronies, who hawk disastrous makeovers), and win the prize. "It was like the sweet icing on top of a delicious cupcake," gushes Katie, whose reconciliation with Callie caps this breezy, predictable middle-grade story. Mia in the Mix pubs simultaneously. Ages 8%E2%80%9312. (May)